The interior of the offensive line for the Minnesota Vikings is a fascinating one. It's been an issue since Steve Hutchinson left the franchise after the 2011 season. 

It's not that the Vikings haven't tried to fix the issue. They have spent multiple day two and three draft choices along with countless free agency dollars to fix the position and a first-round pick on Garrett Bradbury.

Many in the Vikings' fanbase want them to sell out to fix the interior of the offensive line, including with their first-round pick.

The latest installment of our SKOL Search series focuses on a fan favorite in Alabama guard Tyler Booker.

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Tyler Booker

• Alabama
• Height: 6050
• Weight: 350
• Class: Third-Year Junior
• Recruiting info: 4-star recruit in 2020 class per 247 Sports
• Stats: 2024 PFF Grades: 66.5 overall, 63.9 run blocking, 86.5 pass blocking
• Games watched: South Carolina 2024, Tennessee 2024, LSU 2024

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Strengths

• Strength: Booker is arguably the strongest player in this class. Once he gets his hands on you, it's over. He can drive you through the ground and prevent you from moving off of your spot.
• Size: Booker has incredible size and length. Built like the Pokemon Golem, Booker cannot be displaced and has enough length to keep pass rushers at bay.
• Anchor: The two above traits highlight Booker's best trait: his anchor. You won't be moving him backward, as he thrives putting his feet into the ground and holding his own.

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Weaknesses

• Movement Skills: Booker is a physically imposing player at guard. He will grab you and prevent you from moving. However, Booker struggles with movement. He doesn't take good angles when climbing to the second level and his footspeed is subpar in a major way.
• Athleticism: When you look at Booker, you see a strong menace in a phone booth. What he doesn't have is great athleticism. He struggles when pulling, climbing to the second level, and getting off the football quickly.
• Leverage: Booker struggles with consistency in leverage. He gets himself in bad positions by lunging at defenders, allowing defenders to 

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Overview

Trait	Grade
Pass Protection	8.4/10
Punch	8.4/10
Balance	7.1/10
Power	9.0/10
Anchor	8.3/10
Physicality	8.8/10
Athleticism	6.5/10
Size/Frame	9.0/10
Bend/Leverage	7.0/10
Recovery	8.0/10
Grade	80.5 Second Round Grade

Booker is a fascinating prospect. He is one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL Draft and his strength profile is incredible. With that said, the deficiencies are ones that could take him off the Vikings' draft board.

When you run an outside zone scheme like the Vikings do, your interior offensive linemen need to be able to move well and climb to the second level. Those elements aren't what Booker does well. It's a very poor scheme fit.

If the Vikings were to draft Booker, it would be one of two things:

• Kevin O'Connell would be shifting his run-game philosophy
• The run game as it's currently constructed likely doesn't improve

A move like this would be a major shift in philosophy. Now, O'Connell has shown the willingness to adapt his scheme to different players. However, the core principles have remained the same. The team has always been a zone-based run game with play-action concepts to attack the middle of the field. 

If the Vikings do take Booker, they will likely shift to a gap/power-based approach. This is a significantly different style of run game and would require multiple more moves to truly maximize.

While Booker is a very good prospect, the Vikings aren't a fit, and sometimes you don't have a talented player on your board for that reason. Making Booker their selection could be a huge mistake.

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